Communication system



May 30, 1939.

w. s. LEMMON Re. 21,103

COMMUNICATION SYSTEM Original Filed Feb. 15, 1934 v ?Q re 1 i E v Q E )mM 6 IN VENT OR Wd/f?! 5. Lem/non.

m 9 ATTORNEYS Reissued May 30, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICECOMMUNICATION SYSTEM poration oi New York No. 2,000,765, dated May I,1935, Serial No. 711,313, February 15. 1934.

Application for reissue January 14, 1937, Serial No. 120,020

13 Claims.

In accordance ith the present invention, corl5 respondence between thecyclical rates, and phase correspondence as between the impulsecontrolling means and the impulse distributing means, is secured bycausing an actuating impulse to be transmitted by the cyclical impulse20 controlling means at a predetermined point in each cycle of thecyclical impulse controlling means, and by providing in the receiver anactuating means for the distributor, which causes said distributor tooperate at the same cyclical rate as the impulse controlling means, byenergy supplied at the irequency oi the received actuating impulses.

It is a feature of the invention that the actuating impulses and thesignal impulses which are received with the sender and receiver in phasecorrespondence are separated and distinguished by the receiver so thatthe signal impulses are not permitted to affect the means for actuatingthe cyclicalimpulse distributing means.

It is a further feature of the invention that provision is made in thereceiver 01' frequency multiplying means and of means for operating thedistributing means responsive to the multiplied irequency oi theoperating impulses to op- 0 erate the distributing means at thesame rateas the sending collector.

Other objects and advantages will hereinalter appear.

In the drawing forming part 01 this specification, 45 Fig. 1 is adiagrammatic view illustrating the sending and receiving apparatus: and

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary diagrammatic view iilustrating another term ofapparatus embodying 50 features of the invention.

The sender comprises a commutator ring I which includes anoperating-impulse contact 2 and a multiplicity of signal contacts 3 01'which only a few are illustrated. The operating-im- 55 pulse contact isconnected through a conductor one another.

a suitable transmitting or broadcasting means indicated by the rectangleI. The transmitting means I is connected by conductor'l with the hubportion of a cyclical impulse controlling device 9. The battery I iseil'ective to produce an impulse through the transmitting means I eachtime that the controller arm 9 wipes across the contact 2. Thecontroller arm 8 rotates at uniform speed and hence the operatingimpulses are sent out at uniform time intervals.

Between successive operating impulses the controller arm 9 wipes acrossall of the signal contacts 3 in predetermined order completing a circuitthrough the transmitter I as it touches each contact. The contacts 3 areadapted to be selectively charged by means not shown, and any suchcontact that is charged will cause an impulse to be sent out as thecontroller arm 9 wipes across it. Such an impulse will obviously betimed with reference to the operating impulse, in accordance with theposition 01 the particular character contact which is charged. Thesecharacter contacts are so disposed around the circumference of thecontrolling device that they are separated from the operating-impulsecontact 2 by a time distance greater than the length of theoperating-impulse.

The sender may be used in line telegraphy or carrier current systems, orfor radio. A radio antenna Ill is indicated.

In the receiver, an antenna II is connected to an amplifier l2 and thisamplifier is connected through a conductor it to a battery It. Thebattery it is in turn connected through a conductor I! with the hubportion of a rotary distributor arm 18. The distributor arm 16 carriestwo brushes which are electrically connected to One 0! these brushes isadapted to wipe across contacts 26 which are mounted on a stationarydisc 21 and which correspond in their positions with the signal contacts3 of the sender. The other brush forms part of a device 11 which closesa circuit between conductor l and either a ring segment 22 or contactsII, 24 and 25.

The ring segment 22 and the contacts II, II and 25 are the same as thecorrespondingly numbered parts disclosed in my pending application,Serial No. 684,362, filed August 19, 1933, for Synchronizing system. Insaid application disclosure is made of the idea of utilizing what arereferred to herein as the actuating impulses, for adjusting thereceiving distributor into phase correspondence with the sendingdistributor. In the present apparatus they may serve the same purpose,but they are additionally utilized (amplified) to actually drive thedistributor arm It. The ring segment 22 and the contacts 23, 24 and 25,together with the circuits thereof, constitute in said application ameans for adjusting the arm l6 a step forward with relation to thesending controlling device, each time that an actuating impulse comesthrough on the ring segment 22 or the contact 23, and for adjusting thearm IS a step backward with relation to the sending collector each timethat an actuating impulse comes through on the contact 25, In normalin-phase operation, the actuating impulses come through ordinarily onthe contact 24, but may occasionally come through on the contact 23 orcontact 25. Such impulses never come through on the ring segment 22after phase correspondence has once been secured. Signal impulses arenot transmitted until the phase correspondence has been secured at whichtime the ring segment 22 is open circuited to render it inoperative.

In normal operation, the actuating impulses are transmitted through aconductor 59, an electromagnet 6B, and conductors 63 and 58 to aconductor Ill. The conductor 10 is connected to one terminal of anamplifier II. The other termine] of the amplifier II is connectedthrough a conductor 12 to a terminal of the amplifier l2 to complete theoutput circuit of the amplifler i2.

The electromagnet normally holds up an armature 33 against the force ofa spring. The ring segment 22 is provided with a contact 32 with whichthe armature 33 is adapted to engage when released by the electromagnetGil. When the apparatus is first set into operation, and before anyletter impulses have been transmitted, the actuating impulses may betransmitted through the ring segment 22, contact 32 and armature 33 to aconductor 34. Such current passes thence through an advancing relay A toconductor 10. As soon as in-phase operation is produced, however, theactuating impulses are transmitted through contact 24 and electromagnetGil so that armature 33 is held away from contact 32. This condition ismaintained so long as in-phase operation continues, the result beingthat no impulses transmitted while the arm I6 is in register with thering segment 22 can get through to conductor 10. When an impulse istransmitted with the arm l6 engaging contact 23, the current travelsthrough advancing relay A, causing in-phase operation to be immediatelyrestored. This single cycle interruption of the normal circuit through24 is not of sufllclent duration to permit armature 33 to move intoengagement with contact 32. Similarly, when the actuating impulse istransmitted from arm l6 through contact 25, the current passes through aconductor 55, retarding relay R and conductor 53 to conductor 10,causing in-phase operation to be restored while maintaining the ringsegment 22 inoperative.

The mechanism just described is effective both to prevent signalimpulses from reaching the amplifier II, and to transmit power actuatingimpulses to said amplifier. Line current is applied to said amplifierfrom line terminals 13 and I4, and the output circuit 15 of theamplifier is connected through a transformer T with a circuit I6 whichincludes the field winding ll of a phonic motor 18. The rotor" of thismotor is connected through suitable gearing (not shown) to drive theshaft 33 of the distributing arm IS. The characteristics of the motor 18are such that it is adapted to be responsive to current of the frequencyof the operating impulses, and to respond to current of such frequencyby driving the shaft an at the same rotary speed as that at which thecontroller arm 3 of the sender is driven.

In the embodiment of Figure 2 the sending apparatus may be the same asthat of Figure 1 and hence has not been illustrated. The receivingapparatus is also the same as that of Figure 1 with the exception ofcertain features which will be referred to below. The receiver comprisesan antenna Ila and an amplifier Ho. The current is transmitted through aconductor I3a and a device Ila, 21a to a conductor Illa which isconnected to one terminal of an amplifier and frequency multiplier I la.Any one of the several types of frequency multipliers well known in theart may be employed, such, for example, as the magnetic doubler type orthe vacuum tube type. A conductor 12a. connectsthe opposite terminal ofthe amplifier and frequency multiplier I la with the amplifier i2a,completing the output circuit of the amplifier I211. The frequencymultiplier and amplifier Ha, both of which may be of any suitable typewell known in the art, are supplied with current from line terminals 13aand Ila, and the output circuit 15a is inductively connected throughtransformer Ta with a circuit 160 which includes the field winding Ha ofa phonic motor 18a. The motor includes a rotor 19a which is connected todrive the shaft Ila upon which the distributor arm (not shown) ismounted. The rotor "a may be provided as shown in Figure 2 with a largernumber of segments than'the rotor 19 of Figure 1. The increase in numbermay correspond to the frequency multiplications effected by thefrequency multiplier. In such case the efi'ect of frequencymultiplication is to produce a finer degree of responsiveness to theoperating impulses and a smoother application of power. If preferred,however, the frequency multiplication may be utilized to alter in anadvantageous manner the gearing employed, or possibly to obviate theneed for gearing. This feature of stepping up the frequency is animportant feature where more than one impulse per revolution of thesending controller is wanted, since it is desirable to avoid thecomplications which would be introduced by attempting to transmit fromthe sender a plurality of operating impulses in a single revolution ofthe sending controller.

I have described what I believe to be the best embodiments of myinvention. I do not wish, however, to be confined to the embodimentsshown, but what I desire to cover by Letters Patent is set forth in theappended claims.

I claim:

1. In a system for conveying intelligence by electrical impulses, incombination, a sender comprising an electrical impulse controlleroperating at uniform speed and a receiver comprising a signal impulseassorting distributor adapted to operate at substantially the samespeed, said system including means in the sender for transmitting anelectrical distributor-operating impulse at a predetermined point ineach cycle and electrical signal impulses at other times, means in thereceiver responsive to the reception of the operating impulses to rotatethe distributor at the same speed as the sending controller, and inphase correspondence therewith, and said distributor including meanseil'ective at phase correspondence for discriminating between andassorting the electrical impulses actuatin and the several electricalsignalling impulses.

2. In a system for conveying intelligenceby electrical impulses. incombination, a sender comprising an electrical impulse controlleroperating at uniform speed and a receiver comprising a signal impulseassorting distributor adapted to operate at substantially the samespeed, said system including means in the sender for transmitting anelectrical distributor-operating impulse at a predetermined point ineach cycle, means in the receiver responsive to reception of theoperating impulses to rotate the distributor at the same speed as thesending controller, means in the receiver for initially transmitting theoperating impulses through to the operating means regardless of thephase relation of the sender and the receiver, means for adjusting thereceiver into phase correspondence with the sender, and means forthereafter excluding from the operating means electrical impulsestransmitted in the interval between successive operating impulses.

3. In a system for conveying intelligence by electrical impulses, incombination, a sender comprising a controller operating at uniformvspeed and a receiver comprising an electrical signal impulse assortingdistributor adapted to operate at the same speed, said system includingmeans in the sender for transmitting an electrical distributor-operatingimpulse at a predetermined instant in each cycle and signal impulses atother times, means in the receiver responsive to reception of theoperating impulses to rotate the distributor at the same speed as thesending controller and in phase correspondence therewith, and means inthe receiver effective at phase correspondence for excluding from theoperating means impulses received between successive operating impulses.

4. In a system for conveying intelligence by electrical impulses, incombination, a sender and a receiver comprising an electrical signalimpulse asserting rotary distributor adapted for operation at apredetermined uniform speed, said system including means in the senderfor transmitting electrical distributor-operating impulses at uniformtime intervals, and electrical signal impulses between successiveoperating impulses, means in the receiver responsive to said operatingimpulses to operate the distributor, and means in the receiver eiIectiveat phase correspondence of the sender and receiver for preventingelectrical B18- nal impulses from affecting the distributor operatingmeans.

5. In a system for conveying intelligence by electrical impulses, incombination, a sender and a receiver, said receiver including a rotaryelectrical signal impulse assorting distributor and means for rotatingthe same, and said sender including means for transmitting electricaldistributor-operating impulses at uniform time intervals, and means inthe receiver for utilizing the electrical operating impulses both toactuate the distributing means of the receiver and to maintain phasecorrespondence of the receiver with the sender.

6. In a system for conveying intelligence by electrical impulses, incombination, asender comprising means for transmitting electricaloperating impulses at uniform time intervals and electrical signalimpulses at other times, and a recelver comprising a rotary signalimpulse distributor, means for operating the distributor, a source ofelectrical energy, and means controlled by the operating impulses forcausing energy from said source to be supplied periodically to thedistributor-operating means, and means, effective at phasecorrespondence of the sender and receiver, for discriminating betweenand asserting the several electrical signal impulses and the electricaloperating impulses.

7. In asystem for conveying intelligence by electrical impulses, incombination, a sender comprising a collector operating at uniform speedand a receiver comprising a signal impulse distributor adapted tooperate at substantially the same speed, means in the sender fortransmitting a distributor-operatlng impulse at a single predeterminedpoint in each cycle, and for sending signal impulses between successiveoperating impulses, means in the receiver for receiving the operatingimpulses and multiplying the frequency of the same, means responsive tosuch multiplied frequency to rotate the distributor at the same speedasthe sending collector, and means effective at phase correspondence ofthe sender and distributor for discriminating between the signalling andactuating impulses.

B. In a system for conveying intelligence by eletrical impulses, incombination, a sender comprising a cyclical electrical impulsecontrolling means, operating at a uniform cyclical electrical rate and areceiver comprising a cyclical signal impulse distributing means adaptedto operate at substantially the same cyclical rate, said systemincluding means in the sender for transmitting an electrical distributoractuating impulse at a. predetermined point in each cycle and electricalsignal impulses at other times, and means in the receiver responsive tothe. reception of the actuating impulses to actuate the distributingmeans at the same cyclical rate as the sending impulse controlling meansand in phase correspondence therewith, said distributing means beingeflective at phase correspondence for assorting the actuating impulsesand the several signaling impulses. according to their timing.

9. In a system for conveying intelligence by electrical impulses, incombination. a sender comprising a cyclical impulse controlling meansoperating at uniform cyclical rate and a receiver comprising a cyclicalelectrical signal impulse distributing means, adapted to operate at thesame cyclical rate, said system including means in the sender fortransmitting an electrical distributor-actuating impulse at apredetermined instant in each cycle and electrical signal impulses atother times, means in the receiver responsive to reception of theelectrical actuating impulses to actuate the distributor at the samecyclical rate as the said sending impulse controlling means, and inphase correspondence therewith, and means in the receiver eflective atphase correspondence for excluding from the distributor actuating means,electrical impulses received between successive electrical actuatingimpulses. and for assorti-ng the electrical signaling impulses accordingto their timing.

10. In a system for conveying intelligence by electrical impulses, incombination, a sender and a receiver. said receiver including a cyclicalelectrical signal impulse distributing means for transmitting electricalsignal impulses to diverse des tinations according to their individualtiming relative to the electrical actuating impulses, and means foractuating the distributing means, and said sender including means fortransmittin distributor actuating electrical impulses at uniform timeintervals, and means in the receiver for utilizing the electricalactuating impulses both to actuate the distributing means of thereceiver and to maintain phase correspondence 0! the receiver with thesender.

11. In a system for conveying intelligence by electrical impulses, incombination, a sender comprising means for transmitting electricalactuating impulses at uniform time intervals and timed, electricalsignal impulses at other times. and a receiver comprising a cyclicalelectrical signal impulse distributing means, means for actuating saiddistributor means, a source of electrical energy, means controlled bythe actuating impulses for causing energy from saidsource to be suppliedperiodically to the distributor actuating means, and means eiiective atphase correspondence of the sender and distributor for assorting thetimed electrical signal impulses and the electrical actuating impulsesaccording to their timing.

i2.-a system for transmitting intelligence by electrical impulseshaving, in combination, a sender, comprising a cyclical impulsecontrolling means normally actuated at a substantially uni-- formcyclical rate for making a single transmitting channel exclusivelyavailable for the transmission of. an actuating impulse in the firstperiod of each cycle and for making said channel exclusively availableduring the ensuing periods 01 a cycle to individual signal impulsesources of the sender one after another, in predetermined sequence,whereby each impulse is transmitted individually and not superposed inwhole or in part upon any other impulse, and a receiver comprising acyclical impulse distributor and actuating means therefor, saidactuating means maintaining the distributor in phase with thecontrolling means of the sender in response to the actuating impulses,and said distributor acting to place the transmitting channelexclusively in communication with the distributor actuating means duringthe first period of each cycle and to place each of a multiplicity orsignal impulse operated circuits individually in exclusive communicationwith the transmitting channel in predetermined sequence during theensuing periods of the distributor cycle, the actuating impulses servingto actuate and time the distributor cycle for cycle and period forperiod with the sender controlling means.

13. A system for transmitting intelligence comprising the combinationwith a single transmitting channel. of a sender, and a receiver. saidsender comprising control means to:- transmitting actuating impulsesthrough the single transmitting channel to the sender at regular, widelyseparated periods each marking the beginning or a sender cycle, and formaking the single transmitting channel available in predeterminedsequence to each of a multiplicity of signal impulse originating sourcesduring distinct ensuing periods oi each cycle so that each signal sourceis allotted a definite period in each cycle, with the result that eachimpulse is transmitted individually in a definite period and may beidentifled with its particular source at the receiver by itstirning, andthe receiver including cyclical distributing means actuated by theactuating impulses received i'rom the sender in the first period 0! eachsender cycle to set up a distributing cycle corresponding in durationand also period for period with the controlling means of the sender, toallot to each of a multiplicity oi. signal responsive instrumentalitiesa predetermined period of each cycle, whereby each impulse responsiveinstrumentality oi the receiver, including both the actuating'means forthe distributing means and the signal responsive instrumentalities. ismade accessible to impulses only during the sending period or aparticular impulse source of the sender, and is maintained inaccessibleat all other times.

WALTER S. LEMIMON.

CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION. Reissue No. 21,103. may 50, 1939.

HALTER S. LENNON.

It is hereby certified that error appears in the printed specificationof the above numbered patent requiring correction as follows: Page 3,first column, line 2, claiml, for the words "impulses actuating" readactuating impulses; same page, second column, line 26, claima, for"eletrioal" read electrical; line m, same claim, strike out "electrical"and insert the same after "cyclical" in line 29, same c1aim8;and thatthe said Letters Patent should be read with this correction therein thatthe same may conform to the record of the case in the Patent Office.

Siped and sealed. this 15th day of August, A. D. 1939.

Leslie Frazer (Seal) {toting Commissioner of Patents.

